When developing photographic film, a number of processing solutions are used to develop and stabilize the image on the photographic film. These processing solutions become less effective as the chemical components are consumed and, if left unattended, will eventually stop working as a processing solution. Dispensed solutions must eventually be disposed of, either by pouring down a drain, placed in a storage tank for later transportation and disposal, or be subjected to an incineration process. Dispensed solutions largely consist of water. The photofinisher must provide either a drain and water supply, or deal with transporting large volumes of spent photographic waste to a proper disposal site. In current photofinishing systems, processing must be managed for both the film negative processing, as well as the photographic paper processing.
There has been suggested a fully automated interactive system for processing the photosensitive material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,351 discloses an un-manned, automated film processing system, which eliminates all human handling of the film once it is deposited by the customer. However, no attempt is made to minimize the amount of processing solution being used. Since the apparatus is un-manned, it is extremely difficult to control the amount of chemicals being used. In order to assure that the appropriate amount of processing solution is available for processing, excess amounts of replenishment solution is provided for processing, the extra being simply sent to waste. However, doing so unnecessarily increases the amount of effluent present.
The present invention provides a stand alone photofinishing apparatus which requires no plumbing hook-ups and minimizes the amount of fluid generated while continuing to provide a high quality print to be returned to the user.